Five for Friday 9/11/15

On this September 11th post, I must pause to remember that fateful day 14 years ago. I will always remember where I was - getting ready for classes in my college dorm room - when it seemed like our whole world was turned upside down. It was a day that will loom in American history forever. So before we move on, I want to stop and say a prayer of thanks to all of the men and women who have and who continue to selflessly sacrifice their lives for the freedoms we have here. May we never forget 09.11.01

On a more upbeat note, I am honored to link up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching for the

 Here's a little peek into my past week:

My kids say some of the funniest things. On Tuesday evening, my wonderful hubby had to stay late at school for a Math Night and my boys were very concerned that Daddy was not eating dinner with us. My oldest said the following:

Ah, I just love  my boys. Even after a long day, they can always make me smile!

Last week I had the privilege of teaching Little Bro's preschool group. This week I got to teach Big Bro's group. This group has seven 3, 4, and 5 year olds - and they are all boys. Quite the lively group! This is our third year together and it has been such a blessing! This semester we are going through the Days of Creation. So, I started with teaching about Light. And let me tell you - teaching about light to 4 & 5 year olds is no easy task!  We discussed natural and artificial light. Then, we talked about how light travels in a straight line. Next we moved on to items that were transparent, translucent, and opaque. I used items that we had around the house and the boys actually did a great job of classifying them!

 

We also did a crayon resist painting comparing the light and darkness. First, the kiddos used white, yellow, and orange crayons to draw "bursts" of light. Then, because God separate the light from the darkness on Day 1, we then painted over the crayons with black watercolor. Okay, we definitely had some blue, purple, and reds in there, but that's what happens when you give kids watercolors :) They loved how the "light" colors showed up even with the dark watercolors.

 

We also created a "light box" to discuss refraction (or how light can be bent). The full activity can be found HERE. They loved seeing the "light show" in the box - especially the colored "lights."

 I loved hearing them say "I see blue and green." Then, when I would cover up one of the bottles, "I only see green."

 Or, "I only see blue." They were really starting to get it! So much fun!

Finally, we got our order of Usborne books from a friend! My boys were in LOVE with the Wipe Clean books! And I love that they can do as many pages as they want.....and then do it again tomorrow!

I would love to hear about your week! And be sure to check out the other posts at the Doodle Bugs Teaching Link-up. Have an amazing weekend!! 

Five for Friday 9/4/15

The beginning of the year has flown by! We have been so busy, I have not had the chance to blog for a while. Wow! I don't know how some of you bloggers balance it all! Anyway, I am excited to link up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching for the

 Here's a little peek into my past week:

Okay, proud momma moment here. My oldest, who is almost 5, had his very first soccer practice this week! As I played soccer for more than 12 years, this was definitely a special day for me. I loved helping him put on his shinguard, pull on those long soccer socks, and tie those cleats. I loved watching him get out there and not give him. When he came home, he even said, "Yes, mom, I never gave up. I wanted to persevere!" I was impressed. Yes, it was a bunch of 5 year old running around with little to no direction, but so special for me. And of course, little bro needed to tag along as well!

I have also been very busy working on my Letter of the Week Bible Supplement! I love integrating Biblical truths and components into my teaching, so this was the big project I started over the summer. It is ending up taking much more time than I previously thought, but I am so enjoying putting this unit together! It's available to purchase in my TpT store, but it is a growing bundle. I wanted to make it available now so teachers and/or parents could use the same material consistently throughout the year, but didn't have it finished before the year started. Anyway, I update it weekly to include the new components. So, if you're not seeing many new items from me, it's probably because I am spending time updating this set! Here's a little peek at some of what is included for the letter D.

 

So, I feel just incredibly blessed! Though I do not have my own full time classroom currently, I have the opportunity to teach preschool to my boys (and a group of about 7 other kiddos once a week)! This is my third year doing preschool with my older son and my first year with my little guy. Basically, there is a group of about 7 moms who all have kiddos around the same age. We meet once a week for a little over an hour and work on different skills and concepts. It has been so much fun! In fact, two of the other moms are also teachers, so it has been such a blessing getting to collaborate with them! We usually rotate who is the "lead teacher" for the day, and this week I got to teach! I just love it! Though I feel blessed to be home with my boys, I definitely miss having my own classroom, and this is a perfect combination of the two! Here's just a peek at one of our activities :)

  

I scattered various color cards around the room. Then, I called out a color and each student found a picture for that color. 

Then, we glued the colors on the page to match the words. The kiddos had a blast!

I was also finally able to upload my first CVC Word family. I am working on a whole set of CVC word activities, but the -at word family is available now! My oldest is really loving the activities! You can find the whole unit HERE. 

I also got to start by Bible study with my high school girls this week! This group of girls is so very special to me! I had several of them in my class in 5th grade (the rest of them were in the other 5th grade class at the school), my husband had all of them in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Now, they are juniors and seniors and it's my 3rd year of Bible study with them. It is such a privilege and joy to share in their lives! We are slowly working our way through the book of Nehemiah.

I would love to hear about your week! And be sure to check out the other posts at the Doodle Bugs Teaching Link-up. Have an amazing weekend!!